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In the Wake of Recent Events

Many people have been saying many things about the outcomes of this election, and I know my little article will be lost in a pool of thousands of mournful articles far superior to it. But that doesn’t matter to me. I write what I feel, and this is what I feel so here we are.

I have not been in the USA for almost a year now. I witnessed this election from the outside as most of the world did, mocking the idiocy of Donald Trump from afar. I thought, who in their right mind would vote for him?? It will never happen! I woke Wednesday to a different outcome. I woke to the fact that 60 million Americans voted in favor of a man who its racist, sexist, homophobic, and at the very least, utterly unqualified to be the president of the United States. I may not be in the US right now, but this is no time to be a silent bystander.

First and foremost, I am a human being. I am also a woman, strong-minded and out spoken. I have dreams and ambitions just like you. I am the child of an immigrant, an American, member of the LGBT+ community, pro-earth, pro-choice, pro-gun control, and an atheist. I am also still a child, I’m only sixteen, missing my vote in this election by a solid two years. It stings. Because despite what I think I know about politics and the world, I didn’t get a say in this election. The outcome that was not my choice, but will greatly affect my future. My generation is doing walk outs at schools, my generation is protesting, my generation is educated, and we don’t get listened to. And I’m scared.

I’m scared for a world where equality is put on the back-burner. Where the color of your skin or religion defines you. Where the act of a few people leads to hatred for and fear of an entire population. I’m scared for all the strong women I know and don’t know who have been sexually assaulted, molested, raped and will never have their voices heard. A world where myself, and my friends, and my sisters, and my future children need to feel scared about who they love.

How is this the freedom that has attracted so many people to this county? Have we forgotten our roots? Are we not all immigrants on this land? Land that wasn’t even ours for taking, but violently shaken out of the hands and blood of the Native Americans, still to this day. And yet, we call ourselves free.

I fear a world where future generations may not get a chance to breathe the air I breathe today, or visit brilliant forests and natural wonders that I am able to. Because yes, climate change is real. Will they cover their mouths and noses with masks to protect themselves from the fumes of the factories near their houses, because those are the jobs we need in America?

And finally I’m terrified for the millions who voted for Trump. For their ignorance, and lack of education required for them to absorb the nonsense in our next presidents words. I’ve lived among and befriended the warm-hearted, welcoming, and open-minded citizens of Mexico in which Trump wants to wall out of my country. They are the hardest working people, whose values we would greatly benefit from having in our society. After that, I lived in dominantly Muslim Malaysia. I didn’t raise an eyebrow, there was nothing to be afraid of. In fact, I have found no negative stereotype about any group of people to be true in any place I have traveled so far. People are people everywhere. A month from now I will live in Morocco, but now I worry about the unconscious bias that my family will face as Americans in a dominantly Muslim country.

Without education there is fear, but that will not be my generation. Today we fear, but tomorrow we are strong. My generation may be silent in this election, but not at its outcome. We will use our words and our heads, not our fists, to be heard. Because we know love is far stronger than fear will ever be.

2 thoughts on “In the Wake of Recent Events”

You are very right Izzy.
Maybe this huge step-back will teach us to learn from our mistakes, since it seems we’ve been unable to so far…
I will stand by your side, by the women’s, the LGBTQ+ community, the immigrants, and all others Trump might try and discredit during his 4-year presidency.
Because the people of all countries need to love one another to grow together; fear leads us nowhere but sure is predominant these days…

Stay strong.
Teach us and show us how beautiful people really are through your experiences and travels.